Hi, Folks! Leslie, your master's thesis is just GOLD! I've already forwarded your offer to the stakeholders.
Anyone have a good contact at HUD? The Philadelphia office gave me the person who works with the Chester County, but she seems more interested in protecting HACC than giving me the documents I need -- and as Phoenixville residents are alarmed that HACC is planning to double the size of the current Fairview Project with NO community input or "give-backs" to the community, EVERYONE wants to see the plans. Here is the report I sent out to folks in Phoenixville -- if anyone has any advice, let me know! ****************************************** St. John?s United Church of Christ and the Housing Authority of Chester County had a meeting today (5/30/07) at the church to discuss their plans and the future of the garden. The folks that attended were Stephannie Beemer McLimans (State Senator Dinniman?s Chief of Staff) Don Coppedge (Housing Authority of Chester County Board Chair) Tonya Mitchell-Weston (Housing Authority Executive Director) Joe Costello (sp?) (Housing Authority Building Director?) Rev. Linda Gruber (Pastor, St. John?s United Church of Christ) Dorene Pasekoff (Garden/Labyrinth Coordinator) Charles Booraem (Consistory President) George Martynick (Phoenixville Planning Commission) The current Fairview Village Housing Project was built in 1971 and contains 25 units. The Housing Authority is planning to build 10-12 public housing townhouses in 2009 where the playground and pavilion are now ? this would not have to affect the garden/labyrinth, but the Housing Authority wants the garden/labyrinth to move anyway because they are in the process of applying for a 2nd HUD grant to fund another 10-20 (? They weren?t completely clear on the upper number) public housing townhouses where the garden is. The access road/parking for this second set of townhouses would be created by extending Fairview Street right through Bethel Baptist Church?s parking lot and into the area where the garden is now. The Housing Authority submitted complete building plans to HUD to apply for the grants, but has not shown them to anyone else. Phoenixville Borough has not received any plans or any word that the Housing Authority has been planning this project since 2005. The Housing Authority representatives agreed to give George copies of these building plans, but did not provide a timeline at today?s meeting. Meanwhile, yesterday, I talked to the HUD contact for Chester County, Ms. Monica Hawkins and filed a request to see all these plans under the Freedom of Information Act. Ms Hawkins can be contacted here: Ms. Monica Hawkins HUD Philadelphia Regional Office The Wanamaker Building 100 Penn Square East Philadelphia, PA 19107-3380 Fax: (215) 656-3445 Phone: (215) 861-7593 The Executive Director says that the Housing Authority can?t donate the land the garden and labyrinth are on because of a HUD waiver that states that the land can only be used for public housing. Because this information conflicts with what Ms. Hawkins of HUD told me, I left a voice mail message with Ms. Hawkins today to get a clarification and hopefully, something in writing. I will follow up if Ms. Hawkins does not call me back. Don Coppedge set the next meeting to discuss the Housing Authority?s plans and the community garden/labyrinth for September 5 at 9:30 am at the St. John?s United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville Anyone who is interested is welcome to attend this meeting. Meanwhile, here some other information I thought was relevant: Here is the info from the Chester County Department of Community Development 2007 Action Plan: http://dsf.chesco.org/ccdcd/lib/ccdcd/actionplan2007_draft_submission.pdf Page 25 The Housing Authority of the County of Chester Beginning in 2007, HUD has mandated that a new management system be implemented for all public housing. This program, called ?Asset Management?, requires all HA?s to manage properties similar to the private sector, with each development having its own management team, financial resources, systems, etc. The Housing Authority of the County of Chester has already begun preparation for this fundamental change in the management of public housing; and in 2007, will begin full implementation. The Authority has been designated by HUD as a ?gainer?, based on current performance & standards, which will result in slightly higher funding per unit under this new method. In addition, the Authority has prepared its FY 2007 Annual Plan as well as the Five Year Plan for FY 2007 ? 2011. Activities planned this year are: For Public Housing: ? Development of new family Public Housing utilizing HUD funds specifically designated for this purpose [Replacement Housing Factor ? ?RHF?]. Construction should commence in the Spring of 2007. The developer has been selected and further participation of local public and private entities is anticipated. Also, the Authority has received a second ?RHF? award for additional new public housing. The County of Chester has pledged funding for this future activity. On Page 32 of the Chester County Department of Community Development 2006 CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL PERFORMANCE & EVALUATION REPORT to HUD which is available here: http://dsf.chesco.org/ccdcd/lib/ccdcd/06_apr_final_website.pdf Public Housing As part of its Five Year Plan preparation, the Housing Authority of the County of Chester (HACC) submitted an Annual Plan for FY 2006. Listed below are the major activities planned and progress toward accomplishing those activities. ?? Initiate development of new Pubic Housing. The Authority has received HUD approval for the proposed development of 10 new family public housing townhouses on land it owns in Phoenixville. The official Developers Agreement is in process. Further, HUD has funded the first tier for a second round of funding. These project funds will be used to create additional housing at the same site. The County?s Department of Community Development has pledged $680,900 toward this plan upon the Authority?s receipt of the full five years of this second round of funding. The entire DCD library is here: http://dsf.chesco.org/ccdcd/cwp/view.asp?A=3&Q=610319 I haven?t found anything else that was relevant, but this appears to be the only place one can get any public information about the project without filing a Freedom of Information Act request. Under the Freedom of Information Act, HUD has 30 days to fulfill my request. If you would like to read the HUD information, just let me know and I?ll send you a copy. Dorene Pasekoff
